EdgeWoodstock pushed back to August

Courtesy of EdgeWoodstock committee

EdgeWoodstock logo

EdgeWoodstock logo (Courtesy of EdgeWoodstock committee)

DAVID ANDERSON, daanderson@baltsun.com

The day-long EdgeWoodstock cultural and music festival, originally scheduled for June 22, has been pushed back to Aug. 31 as more members of the Edgewood community have stepped forward to take part in organizing the event.

Angela Peaker, a member of the Edgewood Community Council and chair of the event planning committee, said "it was a very small committee" working to bring about the "vision" of Edgewood resident and local attorney Omar Simpson to create a community event to enhance Edgewood's image.

"Now that we have more people on the committee, we want to make it the best it can be, and we just need a little more time," Peaker explained Wednesday.

EdgeWoodstock will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31 in the same location – Harford County recreation fields on Trimble Road, across from the local Kohl's distribution center and just west of the intersection of Trimble and Route 24 (Emmorton Road).

Peaker said admission is free. Vendors must pay for a slot, and applications are still being accepted.

A variety of musical acts will perform, including rock, pop, jazz and Christian artists. There will also be assorted vendors of food, crafts, jewelry and other items.

Local businesses, as well as houses of worship and elected officials, will be operating booths.

Activities for children will be available and area youths will be performing music and other talents.

EdgeWoodstock is being put on by the community council and area residents, Peaker said.

"We have a good group that is right there from Edgewood," she said. "They want to see their own community successful."

For more information, visit the "Edge Woodstock" page on Facebook or call Peaker, 410-679-0473.

Although Edgewood has a reputation as a high-crime area in Harford County, the Route 40 corridor community is poised for greater growth and development thanks to potential state funding opportunities, as was discussed during the community council's April 10 meeting.

Janet Gleisner of the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning told council members and residents in attendance that the population increased 11 percent during the past decade, and a number of projects, such as the development of the Edgewood MARC commuter rail station and the opening of the Southern Precinct of the Harford County Sheriff's Office on Route 40, have enhanced the community's visibility.

Edgewood is home to the U.S. military's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center – established in 1917 as the Edgewood Arsenal for research and development related to chemical, and later biological, warfare.

It is also home to defense contractors and organizations which support military facilities in Edgewood and at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

"From where I sit, being both a resident and employee, it sounds like a very positive thing," Timothy McNamara, chief of infrastructure, community relations and security for the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense at APG, said regarding the April 10 discussion.

While many residents feel neglected by Harford County at large, Steve Johnson, a member of Harford County's Economic Development Advisory Board, said Edgewood has not been left out of the county's economic development marketing efforts.

"I can tell you, you are not being left out of the marketing piece when it comes to bringing businesses to Harford County," he told council members.